Wacky 'Batman 3' Casting Rumors Are Back! (Oh, Joy.)

Oddball casting rumors and Batman 3 seem to go together like peanut butter and tuna. (Yum, yum, right?) It's been a while since we heard one, so it was almost a welcome surprise when Australia's Herald Sun reported that Christian Bale was OUT of the third Batman film, to be replaced by his Terminator Salvation co-star, Sam Worthington.

According to the Herald Sun, Worthington's star is about to "shoot into the stratosphere" with his performances in the upcoming Terminator reboot and later in the year with James Cameron's Avatar. (And on a related note, the size limit of G4's Avatars are 120w x 120h pixels and 100 KB.)

The Herald Sun, however, did not give any substantive reasons for coming to a conclusion on this rumor -- other than a vague recounting of "industry gossip." (Although I suppose making up a story like this and publishing it, would technically be considered "industry gossip," as well.) However, Christian Bale's recent leaked rant was also cited as a reason, due to possible damage to his profile. *Utter bull.*

Let's humor them, then, shall we? What do you think? Would a replacement for Batman ruin the current series?

Personally, it was always my belief that the casting change from Tim Burton's Batman films with Michael Keaton to Joel Schumacher's Batman films with Val Kilmer was not directly at fault for the decline in quality. It was the script and director. (And in the case of Batman and Robin -- the cast -- additionally.) Val Kilmer and George Clooney were actually passable as Batman. (That's as far as I will go.) In a situation where the films would have been actually...what's the word I'm looking for?...GOOD, I think the transition would have been "okay." Don't get me wrong, I'm not singing their praises, but the point I'm making, is that a re-casting of Batman in a Batman series is not intrinsically fatal. Obviously, I would prefer that they stick with the Batman that they have, even with all the diva-like, anger-management baggage he brings to the table. (Honestly, would anyone ever get in his shot again?)